On the Radar: Condusiv Technologies

Transcription

1 On the Radar: Condusiv Technologies Reducing I/O in both the physical and virtual environments Publication Date: 27 Apr 2015 Product code: IT Roy Illsley

2 Summary Catalyst The modern data center faces many different competing pressures in terms of maintaining service quality and performance. The storage subsystem is currently the biggest technical challenge in terms of delivering service quality and performance, mainly due to the volume of data being processed. Condusiv has developed a solution that reduces the I/O to the storage subsystem for both virtual and physical environments. The Condusiv solutions (V-locity and Diskeeper Server) are agnostic of the type of storage and the vendor technology used. Key messages Both Condusiv solutions (V-locity and Diskeeper Server) operate on the I/O within the kernel of the Microsoft Windows operating system at the driver level; as a result they reduce the total I/O from any system. Condusiv solutions currently only work for Microsoft Windows operating systems. The solutions provide a non-disruptive approach to I/O reduction without the need to purchase additional hardware. Condusiv solutions are agnostic in terms of the storage technology, for both vendor and type of storage solutions. Ovum view Ovum research shows that x86/x64 architecture represents approximately 80% of the server market (2013 Ovum Data center survey) and of this, 70% is virtualized. While this trend in virtualization shows a continued expansion, the fact that most organizations have at least 30% of the data center operating on physical servers means that any solution for I/O reduction must operate on both physical and virtual environments. Condusiv developed the I/O reduction technology for virtual environments, and has now added a physical environment equivalent that is compatible with any type of SAN technology. Ovum believes that this provides organizations with a single code-based solution for reducing I/O across the data center. Recommendations for enterprises Why put Condusiv on your radar? The cost and performance of storage is creating problems for organizations of all sizes as the volume of data continues to increase year on year. The Condusiv approach is deceptively simple yet effective, with the main objective being to reduce the I/O to the storage subsystem as close to the source of the I/O as possible. Ovum. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. Page 2

3 Highlights Condusiv solutions represent a simple and cost-effective approach to reducing I/O to the storage subsystem. This I/O reduction will not eliminate the need for additional storage purchases, but will delay the need to purchase additional storage units by ensuring that existing systems operate effectively and efficiently. Background Based in Burbank, California, Condusiv Technologies was founded in 1981 and has spent much of its time working closely with Microsoft and VMware in the operating system kernel and file system areas. Condusiv is focused on developing high-performance I/O reduction software and is known for its caching technology, with eight of the ten leading computer platform manufacturers using Condusiv's RAM, SSD, and/or hybrid caching. Condusiv's software is used by over 90% of the Fortune 500 and almost three-quarters of The Forbes Global 100. Customers include global enterprises, government agencies, independent software vendors (ISVs), and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) worldwide. With over 30 years of product development, the technology is considered mature and well proven. Current position Condusiv has two main products delivering I/O reduction capabilities: V-locity and Diskeeper Server. They operate on the virtual and physical x86/x64 servers used in many enterprise data centers. V-locity The V-locity product family is based on two key technology innovations: IntelliWrite technology (write I/O optimization) and IntelliMemory technology (read I/O optimization). The solution is able to operate with minimal impact on VM performance because it is designed and built to operate in the kernel of the Microsoft Windows operating system. The advantage of operating in the kernel is that Condusiv V-locity communicates with the storage driver, making it compatible with any Windows storage device with a driver for Windows operating systems. IntelliWrite technology Microsoft Windows operating system typically performs its I/O processing as sequential I/O, which means that the data is read from the beginning of the file to the end of the file. The data is then written to pages that are typically 4-64K in size. The problem with this approach is that it increases the number of I/O operations needed to write a single file to disk. Condusiv V-locity stops Windows from breaking the file into increasingly smaller pieces over time, and therefore reduces the number of I/O operations. Ovum believes that V-locity s IntelliWrite however, does not just take a random "one size fits all" approach. Using the V-locity analytics engine, V-locity is application aware, and optimizes the write I/O to be specific to work load and behavior. IntelliWrite s built-in auto intelligence thus selectively guarantees ultimate I/O optimization efficiency. IntelliMemory technology The second part of the I/O optimization is based on improving the read operation. Condusiv uses a server-side cache to hold frequently read data. The IntelliMemory capability provides a more Ovum. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. Page 3

4 sophisticated solution than simply caching the most frequently accessed data. At the core of IntelliMemory is a behavioral engine that learns what data different workloads read, based on usage, frequency, and time. An additional benefit is that IntelliMemory holds just a single version of any data shared between all applications. Diskeeper Server The approach taken by Condusiv is to reduce the I/O in real time before it reaches the I/O subsystem, rather than defragment the files on a SAN. While many hardware storage vendors state that SAN technology does not need to be defragmented because of the inbuilt capabilities in the hardware, this is only true at the physical layer. With Diskeeper Server, Condusiv addresses the challenge of fragmented, or inefficient, file I/O at the logical layer by preventing the files becoming fragmented in the first place. The initial release of Diskeeper Server 15 is based on the same code base as V-locity, but currently does not share a common management console although this is on the roadmap and also does not have the same read caching capabilities as V-locity. However, Condusiv s approach is to understand the problems an organization is having with I/O and performance and to recommend the most appropriate technology based on need; V-locity, although primarily designed for virtual environments, can operate on physical servers if administrators want to take advantage of additional performance via server-side caching. Data sheet Key facts Table 1: Data sheet: Condusiv Product name Condusiv V-locity, Condusiv Diskeeper Server Product classification Infrastructure performance Version number 5.2 and 15 respectively Release date 2013 and 2015 Industries covered All Geographies covered All Relevant company sizes All Licensing options Perpetual and subscription URL Routes to market 100% channel Company headquarters Burbank, CA, US Number of employees 115 Source: Ovum Appendix On the Radar On the Radar is a series of research notes about vendors bringing innovative ideas, products, or business models to their markets. Although On the Radar vendors may not be ready for prime time, they bear watching for their potential impact on markets and could be suitable for certain enterprise and public sector IT organizations. Ovum. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. Page 4

5 Author Roy Illsley, Principal Analyst, Infrastructure Solutions Ovum Consulting We hope that this analysis will help you make informed and imaginative business decisions. If you have further requirements, Ovum s consulting team may be able to help you. For more information about Ovum s consulting capabilities, please contact us directly at consulting@ovum.com. Copyright notice and disclaimer The contents of this product are protected by international copyright laws, database rights and other intellectual property rights. The owner of these rights is Informa Telecoms and Media Limited, our affiliates or other third party licensors. All product and company names and logos contained within or appearing on this product are the trademarks, service marks or trading names of their respective owners, including Informa Telecoms and Media Limited. This product may not be copied, reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission of Informa Telecoms and Media Limited. Whilst reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the information and content of this product was correct as at the date of first publication, neither Informa Telecoms and Media Limited nor any person engaged or employed by Informa Telecoms and Media Limited accepts any liability for any errors, omissions or other inaccuracies. Readers should independently verify any facts and figures as no liability can be accepted in this regard readers assume full responsibility and risk accordingly for their use of such information and content. Any views and/or opinions expressed in this product by individual authors or contributors are their personal views and/or opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views and/or opinions of Informa Telecoms and Media Limited. Ovum. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. Page 5

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